Secret Santa

This evening the Young Women activity was a not-Secret Santa delivery. We took a small tree, some goodies, and a bundle of presents to a family in need. One member of the household was a two, almost three-year-old little girl. I loved having the opportunity to talk to Emily about how some kids have less than she does and about what she can do to help. It was so easy for her to find some nice, girly toys that a three year old would be excited about. It was fun to see her get excited about boxing them and wrapping them for someone who might not be getting a lot this year. I love four-year-olds and their infectious enthusiasm.

How did this happen?

I was wiping off the counter in the kitchen and noticed my lineup of cleaning products today.

How did I end up with such a selection of natural cleaning products? That sure surprised me.

So, I bought some Melaleuca cleaning products at a silent auction the YW held last summer as a fundraiser for camp and started using them. I found that I loved being able to spray and wipe down the high chair right before putting the baby in without having to worry about harmful chemicals. I really like using the gentle Tub & Tile cleaner in the bathtub so I can feel good about putting my kids in there at bath time. I also really love being able to hand a rag to a kid and have the kid help me clean things like windowsills or doors. It is nice to not worry quite so much about dropped rags being picked up and sucked on by Elinor... not that that would ever happen...
I suppose it would be cheaper to make my own cleaning products, but I don't think I could handle yet another project right now. Maybe sometime next year.

Anyway, the point is, I have gradually been transitioning to natural cleaners and I have surprised myself by liking it. I was always the kind of person who would buy what was cheap and what I thought would work best, which is hardly ever the organic or natural product. In fact, I was often the kind of person who would make fun of the earth-loving hippies who bought the other stuff. But now I live in Austin and after 4 1/2 years it is getting to me. I have several neighbors who have their babies at home. I have one neighbor who recently sold her car and bought one of these cool Christiania bikes instead. Go take a look - they really are cool! As a side note, that is something I admire her for doing but don't think I will ever be able to do myself. I have many neighbors who try hard to buy local and organic, even living as poor students. I probably have my really cool, earthy neighbors to blame for influencing me this way, but I have to admit, there are some good things about this green movement. What's next, cloth diapering?!  :)

Christmas and extra

Well, Christmas is in full swing around here. I finally finished the advent pocket calendar I started last year. Not that it's complicated; I just tend to get distracted by other things this time of year.

That's it up there on the wall... you can sort of see it. It had to be high so Elinor didn't get to it and all the mid-height wall space was taken. Anyway, here is where I got the tutorial (I hesitate to add that link because hers is so much cuter) and I put little scriptures (found here) and treats in for each day.
Whew! Glad to have that finally done and up. Miss Emily approves - she is all about blinging up the room in Christmas cheer.

She also insisted we make Christmas sugar cookies with frosting.

She and Caleb did a surprisingly good job frosting them. The only disappointment was when Emily discovered we had eaten all of them before having a chance to deliver a plateful to a neighbor. She definitely has a place in her heart this season for the families she knows will be moving soon. She was ready to pack up and deliver four plates (to Emmaline, Daven, Mia, and Hannah) right away. Maybe next time.



On a totally unrelated note, I went to JoAnne's this evening to pick up fabric for Christmas pajama pants. I found some rockin' fabric and took it to the cutting table. There, I spied two bolts of flannel behind the table that I knew I had to have for Caleb.

Aren't they so awesome? It's so cute I'm gonna die!! I will have to make him an extra pair of pants or a bag or something. 
I always end up spending way more than I want to when I go to that store.

And also, on yet another unrelated note, take a look at this Duplo family Caleb constructed.

I love it because the one that he has his hand on is Mama, the one with four blocks is Daddy, and the other one is Caleb. Sweet, huh! Now we know who really runs the Cooper household!

The Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria

Another jump back in time...
I wanted to make Thanksgiving a little more meaningful to the kids this year. I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job of it, but I tried to talk a little bit about the blessings they have that they should not take for granted. I also talked about the origins of the holiday and we read a couple of books from the library about Thanksgiving. Next year I will try harder to do it a little better, but we had some fun this year.

Here are the little boats we made when we were talking about history.

 I was forcing them to smile in the one above.

Silly kids.

Black Friday

We are not huge black Friday shoppers, but we like to celebrate in our own way. One of the most important things is dressing for the day.

Joseph and I participated too, but somehow we didn't take pictures.

The other most important thing about Black Friday is putting up the Christmas tree.

We let the men do the heavy lifting.

Ooh, gotta love Black Friday!!

Christmas is coming!

It is officially after Thanksgiving now so the kids (all of us) were excited to put up the Christmas decorations!
We started with the Playmobil nativity.

We seem to have fewer pieces every year. It is very much loved by the children!

Then we moved on to the big stuff.

Emily and Caleb really took care of most of it. Elinor was kept busy returning ornaments to the box that they came from, so the older two had a nice, never-ending stash to keep hanging.

Emily's animals came out for the event.
I must say, I have never seen them so well dressed before.

Elinor got to do the honors and help Daddy with the star this year.
Emily was pretty put out about that

Caleb spent a lot of time goofing off while Emily spent her time productively.

The three little ones in matching pj's (fancy Hanna Andersson organic ones! hand-me-downs from a kind neighbor - we don't buy that kind of stuff!). This was the best shot we could get of the three. Seriously. As soon as the two older ones hoisted Elinor up onto her feet she bolted. That girl should totally be walking. I'm convinced she's faking it so that we keep carrying her around. But I swear, once she hits 30 pounds, I'm done.

And that, in a nutshell, was our fun filled evening preparing for Christmas. It really was one of those evenings that you picture motherhood being like before you actually have any kids. Lots of laughter, Christmas music in the background, cold weather outdoors and cozy warmth indoors, and the excitement of the holidays gradually making its way into our household.

Turkey Hunt

Back when we were living close to my parents, Amanda and I were primary teachers.  One week, the primary chorister had the kids do turkey hunting to decide what song we would sing (the song is written on the feet).  I got a copy of the design from her, thinking that I would use it to make decorations one day.  I certainly didn't expect that I would be using it one day as the primary chorister.  But that's what happened.  I think it went well, but there are definitely things that I would (will?) do differently.  I've really enjoyed being the chorister, but it's a lot more work than choir director.  The ward choir never needed to hunt turkeys in order to pay attention, although I did bring them more snacks than I do primary.

We decided to re-use the turkeys for family night.  Emily was sad on Sunday because she tried really hard to sing well but wasn't chosen.  She was being really good, but I kinda have to show some anti-favoritism so that the other kids don't think I'm being unfair.  Anyway, tonight she got her chance. 

We went from youngest to oldest and sang all of the songs under the turkeys.  It took me several tries, I'm afraid.  We had a lot of fun.

 The turkey carnage was a sight to behold.

Then Amanda turned into a zombie and Caleb had to hunt her down before she touched his shoulder (he has a strange fascination with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video).  We had to shut the game down before things really got out of hand.

A Treasure Bag

I seem to go through phases. Sometimes I'm reading four books a week, sometimes I'm running seven miles a day, sometimes I'm playing piano for an hour and a half a day, sometimes I'm being an excellent wife and cooking a delicious dinner (on time) every evening, and sometimes I am working on a million sewing projects at once.
So, this is not turning into a crafting blog, but that is what I have been doing lately.
Emily has always been a collector of treasures. She has been carrying around an old Randall's produce bag filled with her nature treasures for the last couple of days, so I promised her a real treasure bag this week. I found a tutorial for a child-size messenger bag here and put it together today. It is not written very well so I had to backtrack a couple of times, which was frustrating, and sewing with all the kids awake is always a challenge, but overall it was pretty simple. Joseph gets credit here for taking the younger kids shopping so I could finish up. What a good husband!

As a side note, I always sort of laugh at myself for getting so frustrated with the kids for making it hard for me to make a quilt for them or sew a pair of pants for them or read a book on parenting or make a family meal. I wish those darn kids would just play quietly without supervision and let me create material evidence of my good parenting!

Anyway, on to the bag...

Em was pretty happy
(also impatient for me to snap the picture so she could get to work filling the bag).

Here she is transferring the treasures.

The collection in all its glory. Yeah, we might ask her to keep this outside.

And the little bag itself. I kind of like it. I used leftover denim from Joseph's Luigi costume and fabric from my stash (the lining is an old bed sheet). I only had to buy the interfacing, which cost about $1.90. I might add a magnetic closure next time. Also, for any child bigger than Emily I would lengthen the strap, because it looks a little purse-like with the shorter strap.

Now our girl can really collect!

Chairs.

Once, about 6 years ago, Joseph and I were out running together. This was before kids, so we were both able to exercise at the same time. As we passed a neighbor's house, they called out to us:
"Hey! You two want table?"
They were Russian and really cool. And they had a table sitting out on their front lawn. As newly weds, our household furniture was a conglomerate of cast-off parents' stuff, Saver's finds, and leftover pieces from our single student days. Neighborhood donations were very welcome and would fit right in.
Joseph and the neighbor carried the table home while his wife and I each carried a chair.
Two chairs, two people - perfect!

6 years later, not so much. Here is a picture of the motley assortment of chairs we have been using.

The two we got with the table, plus a couple of card table chairs plus a chair Joseph saved from the dumpster (Emily's sitting in that one).

On Friday we went to the Settlement Home Garage sale and picked up these puppies for $15 apiece!

Bad lighting, bad photography skills, bad camera... yes I know. But I have been surprised at the difference it makes in how our dining room/kitchen feels.
They are good sturdy chairs (Ethan Allen) and I am excited to get started on my first re-upholstering project. It might be a while though - I do have to collect a few supplies and tools first.

Fall: Pumpkin, Patches, and Pathosis

Welcome, fall! We are so excited to have such lovely weather lately! I have been trying delicious new pumpkin recipes and enjoying every minute of it. We have loved these pumpkin muffins found via SouleMama and these pumpkin cookies found on DesignMom. And yes, I probably do follow too many random blogs. I'm excited to try some new soups this coming week.

Cooler weather has called for warmer clothing. I have been digging through boxes and storage bins for long pants and long sleeved shirts for the kids. Some of Caleb's jeans were pretty badly torn and since they fit him so well I decided to fix them for him.
And I do really like orange.

And I really like when Caleb poses like a movie star.

He's our own mini Russell Crowe.

Emily wanted in on the action. She's kind of a ham.

 Elinor wanted nothing to do with it.

Lovely fall weather has brought with it much sickness for Elinor.
One day we will have our happy little girl back!

PS - sorry about that title there. I just really needed a "p" word for sickness.